Falcons Down Knights to Advance to Section Title Game

It was an unbelievable atmosphere at the Mayo Civic Auditorium as the no. 5 seed Fillmore Central Falcons defeated the no. 3 seed Kingsland Knights Saturday night 59-53 on KFIL!

The Knights jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead early in the game, but the Falcons came roaring back to tie the game at six. The Falcons continued to get easy looks near the rim, utilizing back-cuts to get easy layups. Tayah Barnes hit a three to push the lead to 13-9 for Fillmore Central, but the Knights were not going away easily.

The Falcons looked to extend their lead into the half, but Lauren Buchholtz was able to get a steal and drive down the floor, get a layup and the harm to cut the lead to three at the break, 25-22.

Kingsland had the momentum coming out of the break, but the Falcons took it right back. They pushed their lead to 10, going up 43-33 early in the second half by generating turnovers. Kenzie Broadwater was a big piece of that, as she was getting steals and taking the ball in transition to help the Falcons extend their lead.

Luke Lonien/TSM Rochester

With the Falcons leading by 12, 51-39. The Knights started their comeback. Kingsland started forcing turnovers of their own, and got looks near the rim. The Knights were able to cut the lead to 55-51, but the Falcons hit their free-throws at the end, while Kingsland couldn't get a couple of their last shots to fall.

It was a very entertaining game, but turnovers were a huge issue for the Knights in the first half, and helped the Falcons control the pace in the second half. Kingsland did a better job of taking care of the basketball in the second half, but they just ran out of time.

Barnes led the way for the Falcons, with 18 points, 12 of them coming from beyond the arc. Broadwater was fantastic, as she did a great job of setting up the offense, controlling the ball and hitting her freethrows. She finished with 13 points.

Buchholtz led the way for the Knights, she had 19 points, while Country Schmidt finished with 12.

The Falcons advance to play Goodhue for the Section 1 title on Friday, March 10th at the Mayo Civic Arena, with tip-off set for 8 p.m.